Draft Fear Redux
I wrote last week about the polling data from young voters and the possible effect that draft talk has had on the segment.

A full third (34 percent) of all young voters expect a draft to be enacted as a result of the war on Iraq, with expectations skewing higher among the youngest voters (44 percent of 18 to 21-year-olds).
A culprit in this misperception is undoubtedly "Rock the Vote" campaign, strongly supported by MTV. Their slogan, "Vote or Die," plays upon misplaced fears of the return of a draft. If you don't vote for Kerry, the campaign implies, you will die. (Ironic, isn't it, that "fear mongering" is a charge most often leveled at Bush.)

Upset by the distortions, and the group's non-partisan status, GOP Chairman Ed Gillespie sent a strongly worded letter to Jehmu Greene (pdf), president of Rock the Vote. He accused the group of "promoting a false and misleading campaign designed to scare America's youth into believing that they may be drafted to serve in the military." Last month Rock the Vote sent a mock draft notice by email to over 600,000 email addresses. Gillespie described the reinstatement of the draft as an urban myth and reiterated President Bush's refusal to reinstate it. He ended with this threat: "As a non-partisan organization that enjoys the benefits of being formed under 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, you have an obligation to immediately cease and desist from promoting or conducting your 'Draft' campaign."

Unpersuaded and undeterred, Jehmu Jehmu Greene responded in a letter (pdf) and described the threat as a "textbook case of attempted censorship." But the arguments Greene uses to support their fears is perhaps the biggest irony of all. "According to the Pentagon's own internal assessment, there are 'inadequate total numbers' of troops to meet U.S. security interests. . . [General John] Keane has told Congress that adding more than 50,000 troops to the Army would require thinking about a return to the draft."

And just who is considering adding tens of thousands of troops to Army levels? None other than John Kerry, who hopes to increase active military enlistment by at least 40,000, an increase Bush does not wish to instate. By Greene's logic (and by extension, General Keane's), the youth of America should indeed fear a draft. But only if John Kerry has his way and increases troop levels.

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Such blatant attempts at fear mongering being displayed in all facets of this election from the Left!!! I can only pray that the American people arent as stupid as the Left thinks they are.

Very few, mostly because they don't care to debate rationally. They usually get banned when they get to the level of obscenity and name calling. That is usually shortly after their first post. Those that do post here regularly have largely earnd the respect of us warmongering, baby killing, Bush loving capitalists (and the other people posting here as well!)

Yes, but it is principally oriented toward the right/conservative state of mind. Some of these guys will listen to differing points of view and others just slam and insult you. If you are thin skinned, this isnt the place for you. If you support your opinions with some facts or a logical structure you'll do okay. Just spout a bunch of rhetoric and you will not be ignored, you'll be pulverized.

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